are we in denial??

[red g]

just a thought?? we are on the one hand talking of number 19 and then on the other hand talking about how hard Haifa will be and we need toplay the best possible team..

Henry didnt play last night......bet we darent do that with stevie !!

Arsenal waltzed through lsat night.....hope we can do the same.

dont thiink any of the other top teams would be bricking it as much as us about this game.....

[Shaggy]

I think it's just a little bit of pre-season uncertainty, probably caused by the dismal form in the friendlies and a few fitness worries. Also we've a few new signings who may need a bit of time to settle.

Although I'm not bouncing with confidence, I do think we'll win relatively comfortably. 2-0.

[Stevie M]

I wouldn't say "bricking it". We haven't looked particularly good in pre-season, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're not ready.

The fear is that we've seen false dawns before and until the team start to show they can do it consistently at the top level there is always going to be a degree of trepidation.

Personally, I think we'll be fine tonight

[FaganK]

its purely down to nerves caused by our pre season and the disastrous consequences of not qualifying

and because haifa are a tricky little team, unlike the piece of p*ss arsenal had to play

[dww]

The thing is that over a number of years Arsenal have developed a set of reserves who have regularly played together in the league cup and always scored goals. We haven't had the luxury of such a strong and experienced reserve team or even a strong squad for a while, and we struggled for goals last season. We also started last season poorly, all of which are valid reasons to be nervous.

I think however at least in terms of our squad we are now very strong. The reason for our poor pre-season in my eyes is that Rafa seems to treat it as purely a fitness exercise and consequently so do the players. This is a competitive match, so we will be up it. I have no fear about tonight and think we should progress comfortably.

I think many people are over optimistic about the chances of winning the league. But then we had a rubbish start last year and got surprisingly close. If we can become a more potent attacking force I think we will be able to go into any game without fear this season.

[dww]

its purely down to nerves caused by our pre season and the disastrous consequences of not qualifying

and because haifa are a tricky little team, unlike the piece of p*ss arsenal had to play

I thought they looked OK until they conceded - at which point they crumbled.

[Ben_Itez]

Although i havent seen them recently arent Haifa a reasonable team??

Didnt they beat Manure a couple of seasons ago?

These games can always be tricky as the opposition may be further on in their season and therefore fitter and used to playing together. However, does anyone know if Haifa have played any games recently with the war and all that?

3-1 to us after conceding an early goal i reckon.

[Nic83]

No, it's just that these two games are UNBELIEVABLY important and if we fail to qualify, it could ruin our season before it has even started.

Not worth the risk.

[FaganK]

if we do have a long run in the champions league then we can forget about the league.

seems any team that goes all the way to the final suffers greatly at home these days

having said that i want a nice long run in europe, i love the european games

[Shaggy]

Although i havent seen them recently arent Haifa a reasonable team??

Didnt they beat Manure a couple of seasons ago?

Think it was a dead rubber. United had thumped them at home and were already qualified from the group. They rested a load of their big hitters, though they did get spanked 5-2 over there. If I remember rightly Yakubu was playing for Haifa and scored a couple that night.

[G_Man]

I think it's a different story if the first leg is away rather than at home. Say we were away and lost 2-0 or 3-1 , it would be comfortably retrievable at home. If we played them at home and stuck the reserves in, then drew or lost, it would be much harder for the first team to spank them away.

If we win comfortably tonight I'm sure we'll stick the youngsters in like Arsenal did last night.

[dww]

The thing is other than Henry, who have Arsenal got to come back? Flamini at left back (assuming Cole is off to Chelsea), Reyes if he doesn't leave for Madrid maybe but that team is pretty close to their first XI.